Prophecy of Hope
by RainbowSerenity
Summary: /Hints of HopeLight; major game spoilers/ Everything he does is one step closer to finding her again.


I love XIII-2 so much, oh man. I'm not surprised the first thing I've written in forever is from it. xD And I'm especially glad that Hope's legal now. Ahem.

I intended for this to be more Lightning/Hope-ish since they're definitely my FFXIII OTP, but it came out as a more general fic instead. Ah, well. He still has romantic thoughts!

This contains **spoilers for XIII-2, **so you might not want to read if you are somehow managing to avoid them all. And if you are, hot damn.

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><p><strong>Prophecy of Hope<strong>

Over the years, the ruins of Paddra had become something unrecognizable. Hope remembered his first visit nearly ten years ago, back when he was a l'cie, so clearly – how quiet it was, with only Cie'th and the others for company. It'd been easy to think that they were the only ones on this whole, wide world of Gran Pulse.

According to his research over the past few years, however, that hadn't been true. Or had it? He didn't know what to make of what he'd found out about the Farseers. Perhaps what had destroyed their civilization happened during the War of Transgression, and that's why they had trouble finding concrete answers.

Despite their troubles, Hope had to admit that it was nice for his years of studying to start to amount to something. Now the ruins were bustling with researchers – _his _team of researchers. He could still hardly believe that he'd been made Director of the Academy, not to mention that he had people who he could share his joy with.

Now he just wished there were certain others he could tell.

He'd told Fang and Vanille. Hope often visited them whenever he had to make a trip back up to Cocoon, though whether or not they could hear him was certainly up for debate. If memory served him correctly, Serah had mentioned once that she could hear Snow while she was crystalized. In any case, it made him feel better to think that they could. And maybe, just maybe, he'd discover a way to bring them back. Not just them, but...

..._Lightning._

His memory told him that she was also in the pillar, holding up Cocoon with Fang and Vanille, but the more he'd thought about it over the years, the more it didn't make sense. He could clearly recall the two Pulse women drifting away from the four of them to become Ragnarok. Lightning was right there next to them, watching in surprise.

...But suddenly she wasn't.

Logically, he knew it was plausible she was in there, despite never having seen her. After all, Snow and Sazh remembered it like that, but after seeing Serah fall to her knees sobbing at the realization that her sister had disappeared, Hope had begun to wonder if something had dug a hole in their memories.

He wanted to find out. All these years of studying were for answers – and now all of this research. It was exciting to finally get somewhere. Even if he'd known about the Farseers back when he was a l'cie – even if Fang and Vanille had mentioned it to him – it wouldn't have done him much good then as it was now.

Would they have known about the device called the Oracle Drive? Would they have been able to say what it contained? He wasn't sure. Oerba was quite a ways away from Paddra, he knew, so perhaps Fang and Vanille had never personally met with this tribe. It was all just speculation, though he was itching to see one of these Drives for himself. Old writings had indicated that they were recordings of the future seen by the Seeress, but it didn't –

"Director Hope!"

Hope glanced at the source of the sound – his assistant Alyssa and another Academy researcher were running up to him, panting heavily as they held something with great care. Hope was immediately intrigued. "What is it?"

"Look!" Alyssa gasped out a breath of air before standing and holding out a strange-looking device. "We found this in the ruins. We think it's an Oracle Drive."

"You do?" His heart leapt, especially when he noticed a similar-looking device in the others' hands. "You found both of these?"

"Yeah, but this one's kinda messed up." Alyssa took the other one and set the two of them down side by side, cocking her head in confusion. "Either way, it's something. I wonder how they work." She reached out and started fiddling with the one that appeared to be in better condition.

"Wait – " Hope reached out to stop her, not wanting anything to happen to the Drive – after all, no one knew how to work it – but to his and everyone's surprise, something Alyssa did caused a beam of light to shoot from a statue that was across the way, forming a sort of clouded screen in the air. Hope walked forward, instinctively wanting to know more. Was this what all of his research had indicated? Was this –

Before he could even really complete the thought, several images appeared on the makeshift screen. Everyone watching gasped in shock and horror, but Hope only stared with widened eyes.

_Ragnarok._

No..._Fang and Vanille._

And...Lightning? Even though that thought matched up with his supposed memories, it just didn't feel right. Not at all. He just continued to watch the prophecy, which showed everything he'd seen with his own eyes nearly ten years ago. Cocoon's fall. The crystal pillar. Ragnarok...

All at once, the image changed and it was only then that Hope uttered a word.

"Lightning!"

Nobody seemed to notice his outburst, save for Alyssa, but she just glanced at him curiously before her attention was back on what was happening. There was no doubt about it – he'd know her anywhere. And he remembered everything he was watching so clearly, like it'd happened yesterday. Lightning protecting him from PSICOM soldiers. Lightning and Odin cutting down everything in their path. Lightning hacking her way through enemies to reach her goal.

All too soon, the cloud fizzled out and eventually vanished. The Oracle Drive, which had been glowing the entire time, dimmed once again with inactivity. There was a moment of silence before everyone started murmuring excitedly about what had just happened, and normally Hope would have been eagerly among them, but he could only stare at the space where he'd just seen the first glimpse of Lightning he'd had in almost ten years.

Before Sazh and Dajh had vanished from his life, the old man had mentioned that their memories could've been playing tricks on them, because there was no way that Lightning would up and leave Serah the way she supposedly did – not after what it took for them to reunite. And if Snow's lack of contact over the years was any indication, he felt the same way.

Perhaps this was why his heart was pounding.

"Director?"

Hope blinked a few times and shook his head, glancing at Alyssa, who was watching him curiously. "Yes?"

"Are you all right? I mean – " She gestured towards the space where they'd seen the images. "You look kinda startled."

"I suppose I am." He let out a breath. Now was not the time to be thinking about feelings from his youth. "That woman – Lightning – she was one of the l'cie I was with when Cocoon fell."

"Really?" She cocked her head. "That's the one inside the pillar, right?"

"No." Hope shook his head. "Fang and Vanille are the ones inside the pillar. Lightning..." He let his professionalism slide for a moment as his shoulders dropped in defeat. "...I don't know where she is. Nobody does."

Alyssa made a sympathetic noise, like she could possibly understand his heartbreak, but then frowned slightly. "She looks sorta familiar. She wouldn't happen to have a sister, would she?"

"She does." Hope's heart began to race again, though not in a good way. "How do you know?"

"Wait a sec." She pointed towards the Oracle Drive. "Are you telling me that one of the l'cie who saved Cocoon is Serah Farron's sister?"

"Yes! That's exactly right. How - ?"

"I met her about five years ago." She ticked off her fingers and nodded. "Yep, about five. It was in the Bresha Ruins, when the Academy was really starting to get underway. She showed up there with some guy named Noel."

"Noel?" What happened to Snow?

"Yeah, and they really helped us out. They solved the paradox behind Atlas and everything. But pretty much right after everything was back to normal, they vanished."

"I see." Even though he didn't, not really. He hadn't heard from Serah in years. Why would she show up on Cocoon out of nowhere? Did she know something?

...About Lightning?

"We'll see them again." Alyssa was putting the first Oracle Drive, the one they'd just viewed, into a better area for safekeeping and more study. "If they're showing up out of nowhere, they're bound to show up here too, right?"

"Perhaps." He hoped so.

It was just moments after he'd said this that Hope noticed the sky growing dark, though it was the middle of the day. He took a few steps out towards the stairs and looked at the sky with a frown. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. In fact, the entire area was gradually becoming pitch black, save for their own lights.

Alyssa was by his side in an instant, also looking around in confusion. "What the heck?"

Hope realized what was going on when he realized he couldn't see the sun. "An eclipse," he said slowly. "Do you remember? It was on one of those stone tablets. It occurs every few centuries..." he paused, "...but according to my calculations, it's nowhere near time for it to show up again." He watched as several Academy remembers scurried around, putting up more lights and blocking off areas where there were bound to be monsters.

"Could it be...a paradox?"

"Maybe." Hope rested a hand on his hip. "Which hopefully means Serah and Noel will appear to fix it. I'm not sure what we can do."

"Well..." Alyssa turned and gestured towards their meeting area. "There's always the other Oracle Drive! For now, anyway."

"Right." Back to business. Was it his imagination, or did the Drive look a little different?

No matter. When he got to it, he did what Alyssa had earlier to activate it, more prepared this time when a beam of light shot out from the statue across the way. He wasn't sure what to expect – after all, nothing had prepared him to see Lightning and Ragnarok earlier. Surely this one would be a little more mundane.

As before, activating the device caused a beam of light to appear, forming another cloudy screen in the air. The images were a lot more fuzzy and distorted this time around. In fact, it was a few seconds before Hope realized what he was watching.

Again, the blurred images were of Lightning, but everything was different, save for the battle-ready look of determination he could barely make out on her face. Was that _armor _she was wearing? And how had she gotten the power to summon Odin?

...Was this even taking place anywhere on Cocoon or Pulse?

Hope's heart pounded heavily as he watched. What was Lightning doing? Who was she fighting?

_Where was she?_

One of his questions was answered seconds later when the distorted image of a man he'd never seen before appeared on the makeshift screen. Even in this bad quality, Hope could tell that this enemy had an aura of power, and a cocky smirk to go along with it. His blade clashed against Lightning's, the two of them looking to bring each other down.

All too soon, the prophecy ended. Hope's eyes slid towards the Oracle Drive in an effort to compose himself internally. His heart was still racing at this minute glimpses of Lightning, not to mention whatever was going on in that second prophecy.

Alyssa was watching him, a finger tapping against her cheek. "That was that Lightning woman again, right?" At Hope's nod, she continued, "Who was that other guy? And where was she?"

Defeat filled him. "I don't know," he admitted, unable to keep the emotions out of his voice. Hope cleared his throat after a moment, suddenly all business again. The Academy didn't need to be privy to his personal feelings. "But that's what we're going to find out. For some reason, Yeul of the Farseers had these prophecies. One has already happened. We need to figure out when the other one will happen."

"Maybe it already has."

"What?" Hope stared in surprise.

Alyssa shrugged. "You haven't seen her since Cocoon fell, right? Maybe that's happening right now, somewhere." She gestured towards the air, where they'd seen the prophecy. "And you just don't know it."

"Hmm." Hope felt positively giddy at the thought. "That's possible. Where she was...it didn't look like anywhere on Pulse or Cocoon that I've ever seen."

_Which means she's alive. Wherever she is, Lightning is alive in that place._

"Maybe Serah and Noel know something." Alyssa took the other Oracle Drive, apparently eager to study it some more. "Like I said, I'm sure they'll show up again, especially with this eclipse coming out of nowhere." She looked at him with an attempt at a sweet smile. "And don't you want to have more to tell them?"

Hope chuckled under his breath and nodded, the director side of him taking over as he headed towards the Drives. "Right."

_Serah...I'm not sure when or where you are, or even if I'll end up seeing you again. But if I do, I promise you – we _will _find Lightning and bring her home. _

_And Lightning...I'll be able to tell you everything about these past ten years. Everything I've done, it was for Fang, Vanille...and you. I await the day I can tell you this in person. Thanks to the findings of the Academy...there really is some hope._

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><p><em><em>Hope puns are way too easy. xD

**Reviews** would make my day/month/year!


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